


Loyalty

by GracelessLamb



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, hand holding, post horizon angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 00:46:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19414966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GracelessLamb/pseuds/GracelessLamb
Summary: Shepard and Garrus have a moment the night after the Horizon mission. An anon tumblr prompt.





	Loyalty

Shepard flops on her bed in exhaustion and stares at the ceiling, her fingers combing through her wet hair. It's been a long day and all she wants to do is to slip into unconsciousness. She closes her eyes. Kaidan's face floats into her mind. He may be a good soldier, but his sense of loyalty that even she once admired, but now realized that loyalty completely clouded his sense of rational thought.

The way Kaidan had looked at her on Horizon. As if Shepard had _betrayed_ him somehow. It's not like she had a choice in which organization forced her back to life.

Whatever. If Kaidan wants to pretend that Shepard's forced resurrection was somehow a betrayal of his trust in her, then fine. _Fine_.

“Commander.” EDI's voice fills the room. Shepard groans and rubs her eyes. This better be something important.

“Yes, EDI?”

“Garrus Vakarian wishes to enter your quarters.”

Garrus. At least she still had Garrus. The turian had been with her since the beginning, just like Kaidan. Unlike Kaidan, Garrus was still by her side. Out of all of her old crewmates, Garrus had changed the most over the past two years. When she had first met him, he was a young C-sec officer, frustrated with the bureaucracy of his workplace. Now he was a man who had lost much over the past few years, with the scars to prove it. He and Shepard were the same in that sense.

Shepard sighs. She wonders what Garrus might want at this hour. “Send him in.” She stands up and walks to the front of her quarters.

The elevator wooshes and Garrus strides inside. His blue eyes glance over at Shepard's tired form.

“You look like hell.” he remarks dryly.

Shepard laughs weakly. “What did you expect me to look like?”

Garrus chuckles and shrugs a little. “Like hell.”

Shepard gives her old friend a small smile. “Do you want to sit down?”

“Sure.”

They move to sit on the couch and there are a few moments of awkward silence.

“So, Garrus...what brings you here at this hour?”

Garrus' mandibles twitch nervously. “W-well. I know Horizon hit you pretty hard, especially with you and Kaidan being...close.”

Shepard laughs humorlessly. “I'm fine, Garrus.”

“You're not, Shepard. You're hanging by a thread.”

“And why the hell would you think that?” demands Shepard in a harsh voice.

“Because I know what betrayal feels like. You were hoping for Kaidan to join us in the fight against the Collectors weren't you?”

Shepard lets out a ragged breath. “I... had hoped that his trust in me was stronger. Especially after everything we went through.” She feels the familiar feeling of tears welling up in her eyes.

Garrus scoots closer to her and places his hand over hers. His gloved talons completely engulfs her small human hand in warmth.

“If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here, Shepard. You've had a long day. Even badass death-cheating Spectres need to cry every once in awhile.”

Shepard smiles and squeezes his talon softly. “Thank you, Garrus.”


End file.
